Once More
by Sissy
Summary: An all-cast story of the daily lives of interconnected people just trying to survive everyday in the jungle of destruction and death. /various pairings/updated irregularly/
1. Water of the Gods

**Title:** Once More**  
>By:<strong> Sissy

**Chapter 1:** Water of the Gods

"This is the lonely, lonely story of the young misunderstood Izaya." He began the rant while his best friend looked at him as if he were mad. Although it was already normal between the two. "It is a story of passion! Betrayal! Love! And death!"

Izaya was throwing his hands in the air as they stood on top of the corner of the roof of the broken down building. They had been told again and again not to go out of the village without supervision but the two couldn't help it. Well, Izaya couldn't help it. His best friend, Kasuka, was usually only dragged along for the ride. Sometimes he went along willingly.

"Let's begin from the very beginning. His father is not the annoying man who takes care of him now. No, no, his father was a proud man though Izaya never knew him personally. He was a man that lived for the sake of others. And most especially, his mother. Yes, his poor mother. The news of his father's death devastated her. At that moment, that annoying man came." Izaya grinded his teeth but continued on. "Yes, the annoying man! He proclaimed his undying love for Izaya's mother and the woman, still devastated, took the bait and loved this annoying man back!"

Many times Kasuka had heard the story and by now it bored the living daylights out of him. So he brought out the book he took from the village's library. He needed to ration his thirst for knowledge since there weren't many books so he brought a book to read every month and reread it as much as possible in order to understand every single line.

"But Izaya's mother was loyal to her husband! Why was that? Because she was pregnant with his child! It was only very shortly before his death that Izaya was conceived. However, the birth left his mother weak. And this was when she gave everything of hers to the annoying man! The prize was finally in his hands! And oh, how Izaya felt being raised by this annoying man!" He dropped to the floor, biting into a handkerchief he brought out. "The amount of care given to him felt so fake, so forceful, that Izaya had no choice but to keep his mouth shut! But he swore! Yes, he swore! One day! One day he'd take his revenge!"

As his friend laughed like a maniac, Kasuka closed the book with a loud enough noise to catch Izaya's attention. Pouting, he turned to Kasuka and took the first step in his direction. "Have you had enough?" Kasuka asked calmly as Izaya bent down to his best friend.

"Fine, fine. So, what's the deal today? It's pretty rare for you to bring me out yourself." Izaya asked curiously, looking around the surroundings. This was a different section than the one the two regularly visited. Izaya didn't mind the trek to this new unexplored area, he was just curious as to the reason why.

"Last week's tremors. There's something that's been bugging me this whole time since then. I thought it might interest you." Kasuka explained as he stood up and began walking out of the roof. Izaya followed willingly, his bright smile showing his clear interest.

"Then, you've found an interesting smell?" Izaya asked, his smile turning into a grin.

"Well, something that was similar to you. Don't really know what it is yet." Kasuka replied cryptically but his best friend completely understood. The two had known each other for a long time now.

"How nice. And here I had been thinking of researching the chaos and mayhem that was left by that recent event. You know me so well, Kasuka!" Izaya was almost dancing with joy as he skipped to the side of his best friend. "Then, in your honor, I give you the second half of our show! The heroic tale of the young but smart Kasuka!"

Kasuka rolled his eyes but remained quiet. It had been a while since Izaya narrated his life.

"Kasuka's story begins with his mother's. This poor woman who came from a different village was kind. Oh, but I should correct myself, seeing as the woman is not dead yet." Izaya quickly spoke that last line after noticing his friend's stare. It was scary when it became like that. "Yes, this woman! She came from mountains beyond, carrying her newborn child in her hands. Welcomed she was to the village! Cared for she was by none other than Izaya's mother, only a short period of time before her death at birth!"

Since there was nothing to do until Izaya finished his story, Kasuka simply remained quiet and led the way through the many nooks and holes. There was a destination for the two, but how important it was, not even Kasuka knew.

"The story was retold to the village head. Yes, it was a story of farewells! The mother was but the second wife to Kasuka's father. But still, the mother loved him nonetheless, with all her being. Yet, the reason for this dual marriage was not just the love Kasuka's father had for both women, but the necessity of it. For you see, Kasuka's father, the village head of that place beyond the mountains, was the leader of the Priestesses! The very Priestesses that protect all villages in the country!" Izaya, who had been very melodramatic with his hands, suddenly brought them closer to his chest as if he were in pain. "So you see, Kasuka's life was no longer necessary. A male cannot cast the unique charm all Priestesses can. Therefore, with tears in her eyes, the mother bid her husband goodbye!"

Kasuka looked back at his friend, who had brought out his handkerchief the moment he stopped and was now using it to wave at the horizon. If only Izaya worked alongside the people of the theater, Kasuka thought sadly but kept the idea to himself. There weren't that many keen on having Izaya help them.

"This very story moved the heart of the village head and he welcomed her with open arms. From that day forward, Kasuka and his mother belonged to the village and because of their ties Kasuka and Izaya became the very best of friends! They shared everything! From thoughts to ideas to secrets until finally, even all their…!" At this line, Kasuka knew he couldn't allow Izaya to go forward. Sometimes his best friend had no decency or a method of stopping himself so his stories could continue on forever. And in the most shameless of ways too. "…So are we there yet?"

With a smile in place, Izaya had recovered and quickly joined the pace of his best friend. Kasuka shook his head and continued leading the way. Izaya didn't mind the silence; it gave him time to think of other fun projects. Almost three hours later, as Izaya got to the good part of another scene he made up, something that even Kasuka seemed to be expecting, they arrived at one particular building.

"So the road cleared up because of the tremor from before? Doesn't look too stable though." Izaya commented as he followed Kasuka in. Whether it would hold them was something to be seen but neither seemed to actually care that much. "_Que sera, sera._" The younger of the two friends repeated their lucky words and saw Kasuka smile.

"I think it's coming from this way." Kasuka suddenly commented and headed up the stairs, followed by Izaya. There seemed to be loose steps so the two made their way upwards with care. "There seems to be lots of things we can pilfer." The suggestion was made after seeing a broken wall that revealed the contents of one room.

"Good, good. I'm rubbing off on you. We can try to pilfer anything that we can carry after checking out this thing you're so interested in." Izaya pushed Kasuka up the stairs and the boy nearly fell through a crack. "Whoops. Sorry."

Kasuka didn't look too angry, though normal people couldn't really tell, but Izaya could and Kasuka surprisingly really didn't look too angry. "Try not to do it again, Izaya." Then Izaya realized his mistake. His best friend was seriously pissed. The older one had a sixth sense about things so Izaya was probably going to screw something up in the immediate future. Not like he could do anything about it though. Izaya had long since learned to pick his battles. And Fate was not a kind adversary.

"Oh, look. No more stairs. Time to find an alternate route!" Izaya commented happily, turning to the hallway filled with rubble. There was a convenient opening and Izaya began climbing but Kasuka stopped him. Before he could say anything though, Kasuka spoke first. "There are _pochis_ up there." Although it was a serious matter, Izaya couldn't help but smile brightly.

Realizing his mistake, Kasuka just warned Izaya to be careful or their treasures that were to be pilfered in the future could be destroyed. He also gave Izaya a friendly reminder that if any book was damaged because of his stupidity, he would leave him in the bottom of a well. Of course, he said this in a nicer way but that was just how Izaya interpreted it.

The two climbed up in silence and took a peek at the floor above. Effectively, there on the floor, very close to them, were the things that both kids liked to call _pochi_. The adult form didn't differ much in regards to the head but the baby versions looked too innocent to the two. Of course, they did know that they were dangerous and everything but usually never cared about small details like those. Watching, they noticed that the pochis were most likely sleeping. Although the ears that doubled as eyes, in a very literal sense, were closed, their tails and only pair of legs twitched every so often.

"Risk it?" Izaya asked with a grin to Kasuka, who nodded. The two jumped above to the floor and eyed every single sleeping pochi before making a small dash in the direction Kasuka pointed to. They made sure not to wake a single one or to hit them accidentally as they climbed another set of stairs.

"This is the place." Kasuka noted once he found a broken door. Making sure he didn't knock over the rusted door, Kasuka was the first inside. Izaya followed soon after, noticing how his best friend was frozen in place. He had been gazing in admiration at all the books displayed in the room. Most of the seemed to be in good conditions but he needed to check them to be sure.

"Oh, these are apartments, right? Sensei talked about them before." Izaya commented and took a look around. He didn't know what Kasuka thought he might find interesting here but knew he had to wait while his best friend got over the initial shock. "Look! Computers! Sensei might find these interesting!" He poked around the machines that had been on the floor.

Kasuka finally seemed to gather his bearings and turned to Izaya. "I think it's over here." He commented and climbed the bookshelf with ease. Izaya watched him take out what seemed to be fake wall that had been cracked. It was most likely this opening that caused the expedition but Izaya could never be sure. "I'm not sure what this is. Here." Tossing what he took out to Izaya, the other was caught by surprise and almost let what Kasuka handed him fall to the floor.

"What…is this?" Izaya stared at a tube filled with liquid. He tried to look at it from all sides but all he saw was a keyboard pad on what could have been the top. "This is what you said might interest me?"

"Well…" Kasuka dropped down next to Izaya and looked at the tube for a while. "I think so?"

"So you're not sure? Well, opening it will be tricky. Care to help?" Izaya looked up at Kasuka, his grin widening with every second. His best friend only sighed and stared at the tube with intent. Calmly, he pointed to four letters on the keyboard. "Well, the combination shouldn't take too long. Give me a few. Look for something you might want to take back first."

Kasuka nodded and began to inspect the shelves. There was just so much for him to see and choose from. But he tried glancing over them all first. Everything called out to him but he tried to be selective in his choice. If there was something he hadn't heard of before, then he'd probably take that. Kasuka had memorized at the very least all the titles in the library back at the village.

"Got it! Though I don't know what it means." Izaya cheered but Kasuka had not heard him as he had picked up an interesting book. Shrugging his shoulders, Izaya slowly began to open the top of the tube. There was a bit of smoke that got caught by Izaya's face and Kasuka had immediately dropped the book in his hand. He jumped away from the smell and covered his nose. Though to be specific, it wasn't a real smell but Kasuka had smelled it nonetheless.

Izaya fell forward, somehow closing the top with his body and Kasuka noticed he was unconscious. But what worried him wasn't that. He looked towards the door of the apartment with extreme worry. Gulping, he picked up three books as fast as he could and put them away in his backpack. Then he checked that the tube was sealed before placing it in Izaya's backpack. "You're going on a diet after this, Izaya!" Kasuka grumbled as he threw Izaya's arm around his shoulder and ran over to the front door.

As soon as he was on the other side, in the hallway, he heard the growling and the heavy breathing. He didn't have to look to the side to know what was there. In his mind, Kasuka cursed his best friend but also himself for allowing this to happen. But there were times when he just couldn't help but try and make his best friend smile. His mother said it was normal but he hated it, especially on days like today.

"Pray you survive this." Kasuka murmured as he jumped over the railing without looking up. At the very least, the pochi had not followed them. Yet anyways, Kasuka couldn't help thinking. The fall felt like forever but in between the fall, Kasuka felt Izaya stir.

"Danger! And excitement!" Izaya yelled and Kasuka noticed his eyes. They had turned golden but more than that, Kasuka didn't recognize his friend. He seemed so different it could almost be someone else entirely. "Come on Shizu-chan, use the wall for support!" He suggested while separating from Kasuka and using the wall of the building behind him as support in his landing. Kasuka followed behind him and very soon, both landed safely. "That was fun! Wasn't it?"

"Give Izaya back." Kasuka suddenly had Izaya by the throat and the boy noticed the color recede to its original color. Izaya suddenly looked to be in a bit of pain and also confused. The other immediately let go of him in surprise. "S-sorry, Izaya. You were acting weird."

"I know. Don't worry." Izaya said calmly, rubbing his neck. "Those fumes were really strong. It's like I was outside my body for a second. I saw an older guy controlling it but I couldn't tell who he was. I've no idea where he went off to either. But I am thankful he's gone. He seemed a bit crazy."

Though his friend was smiling, Kasuka was not and Izaya could tell. Shaking his head, he helped Izaya back up. "Anyways, let's not do that again." Kasuka suggested but noticed the look on his friend's face. Knowing he was going to regret it sometime in the future, Kasuka sighed. "At least, not in a place like this."

"Alright! Now, shall we head home, dearest best friend?" Izaya gave Kasuka a wink, knowing it bothered Kasuka whenever he did that, and saw said best friend nod in response. "Alright! Now, since we're heading back to the village while running away from the pochi who are most likely awake thanks to everything, how about I recite another story? Let's see, let's go with the tale of the brave and noble Eijirou!"

Full of joy at spreading his father's tale, Izaya followed Kasuka's lead as they ran away from the area. A lot of pochis were behind them but since in their young state they were pretty slow, both boys managed to outrun them. By the time Izaya finished his tale, they had entered the forest that lead back home to their village.

**To Be Continued**

Sissy: Well, I did say I was going to do this. Though, unlike the other projects floating around (which I am working on, I swear!) Imma be posting this whenever I can. There's no fixed plot, or rather, idea of how this will end. Most likely, whenever I feel like I've said enough. It'll be a slice-of-life kinda thing in a post-apocalyptic setting.


	2. Continuous Haunting

**Title:** Once More**  
>By:<strong> Sissy

**Chapter 2:** Continuous Haunting

_The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was darkness. It was night so it wasn't anything new. But there was a certain warmth that seemed out of place for the season. And then there was the pressure on top of me. I squirmed a bit and found it hard to breath. The fear that surrounded me was great and with great force, I managed to kick away the pressure. Even in the middle of all that darkness, I was able to recognize the figure that I now realized had been protecting me. Before I was asleep, I saw only one thing. Those pair of unspeakable eyes._

With a startling jolt, the first thing she did was grab the knife by her side. Then she eyed her surroundings. Quickly noticing the sleeping form of her companion, she sighed with relief. A crack behind her got her attention soon enough. In an instant, she twirled around to stare down at those eyes. The very same eyes that plagued her dreams.

"Nnn… Celty…? What's going on?" The man mumbled as he got up to put on his glasses. He was a bit too easygoing sometimes. "Huh…? Again? He doesn't do anything, so why are you fighting with him?" As his voice died down, the man fell back to the floor with a loud snore. It quieted down within seconds though.

"I wish you'd take it seriously, Shinra." With a sigh, Celty put away her knife and tried sleeping again. However, she could feel its nonexistent gaze upon her and it unnerved her. Not knowing what else to do, Celty scooted over to Shinra and fell asleep next to him.

Early the next morning, Shinra was the first to wake. He heard a strange noise and looked to his side. While it wasn't staring at him, it was clearly stomping its two feet on the ground. "Bwagh! Th-the-the devils?" He was caught by surprise by the proximity of it that he stumbled onto Celty's sleeping body. "What's going on?"

Almost half an hour later, after Shinra calmed himself down, Celty woke up. She glared at it for being so close but it simply continued stomping like it usually did. "How long has it been doing that?"

"For a good half hour…" Shinra responded with a saddened smile, trying to come up with a way to move in order to have breakfast.

"Then Shinra…care to explain to me the hoofs?" Celty tried asking and saw her companion smile brightly. He clasped her hands in joy and was about to speak. Although she knew stopping him was a good idea, she decided to let him go as usually nothing would force him to stop his rants.

"Isn't it interesting? It seems to be growing at a different pace that the others, and although we already knew that, what's interesting is that it's maturing in a different form than its siblings. Is it because it's blind? Wouldn't that be interesting? But how does it know what a horse's legs are supposed to look like? Could it be that there are more types of DNA in it? If we tell it to become a real dog, would it comply? After all, it obviously likes you Celty." Whenever Shinra ranted about it, all his speeches usually ended in the same way.

"I don't know and I don't care. That thing ate my parents. That's all I know." Celty muttered angrily and got up from the ground. As far as she remembered, ever since encountering it, it had never hurt her or tried to eat her. It simply followed. But the memory in the back of her mind was strong. She could never trust it.

Knowing when to give up, Shinra cleaned up their campsite and made his way to Celty. "Which way are we supposed to go now?" He asked her with a smile and noticed her ease up.

"The boss said it was that way but he's not sure how far. But he warned us to be careful not to cross another Priestesses territory. The blowback might be a bit strong." Celty explained the message as she headed in the direction she pointed. There was no need to look back because it always followed her. Ever since her village was destroyed, without fail, it has been behind her.

It was only by some miracle that the village she was in did not turn her away. All the others before had done so. Shinra was the cause for this miracle. He vouched for her, without any proof of trust. Just plainly he spoke about how it was immoral for them to turn away someone so young.

The terrain was a bit arduous but the two continued onwards. They were supposed to be scouting as they had trained long and hard for it. Scouts were important in their everyday lives because the adult versions of what followed them loved to do new nests every year and the locations were usually in someplace hard to reach. As long as they found the general location, it was pretty much guaranteed to be where they could see it. However, recently, Celty had found something odd in the nest locations.

As Celty was lost in thought, she failed to notice when Shinra fell down due to it running towards the two. Only when she felt it nibbling her leg did she stop, but only to kick it away. It didn't seem to mind and once again started stomping the ground. Shinra looked at it curiously while getting back up and Celty tried to pass around it. However, it placed its useless wings on the floor for support and tried to push Celty back with the legs.

"What the hell does it want now?" Celty asked angrily and tried going another route but it stopped her once again. At her boiling point, Celty brought out her knife. She had done this quite a few times so she knew she was immune but it still bothered her to do it because she knew Shinra wasn't. In an instant, it fell to the ground due to the cut wing. It couldn't get up right so it flailed about pitifully. The golden blood had touched her just a bit so Celty drew up the hood of her jacket.

"Don't worry, Celty. It's just me here." Shinra tried to ease his companion as he grabbed her hand. Though she was blushing, Celty refused to remove the hood. The tips of her brown hair had turned a golden color but Celty didn't know that. She just wanted to hide it all.

The two continued onwards, ignoring how it had been crying out to them. It didn't seem to be in pain or it just plainly ignored the pain and continued to cry out until they were out of sight. Then it proceeded to lick itself.

"Is it just me or is this area rather weird? The smell is…" Shinra thought something was wrong. He was the best scout in the village and his instincts were usually on spot. But something felt different this time around; he just couldn't put his finger on it. He tried looking around since his eyesight was very good but found nothing.

"I noticed it earlier but I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me. It's like that last nest. It was more hidden, remember?" Celty asked worriedly and noticed Shinra stop in his tracks. Before she could ask him what happened, he turned back and threw himself on her. Though she was initially surprised, what truly surprised her more was the sound of rapid wind above her. She immediately knew what it was.

"Time to run, Celty." Shinra tried smiling to ease his companion and pulled her along with him. After all, there was no way for them to win against the adult ones.

As Celty caught up with Shinra's pace, she noticed another one and pulled Shinra to the side. He followed her lead and tried to make sure that an escape route was available; however, soon they found themselves trapped. Celty brought out her knife. If it was necessary, she would protect Shinra but she wasn't completely sure if she could bear with the consequences of this action.

"Celty, go all out. Don't worry about it." Shinra tried to ease her thoughts and Celty nodded hesitantly.

Three adults crept forward as Celty raised her knife. She was prepared but had frozen in place when she saw something deep black tackle one of them. Shinra was as surprised as her but the two could only watch as the adult that had been attacked, fought back against the deep black thing. There was a yelp as it was thrown against a wall.

"What's…?" Both Shinra and Celty were confused by the deep black thing that got up, growling. Its eyes were closed but it faced the adult that threw it. Somehow, Celty felt as if she knew it. There was a mixed feeling of things in her heart and she couldn't identify it.

The attacked adult prepared to fight against the deep black thing while the other two moved towards Celty and Shinra again. Both weren't sure what they should do when the deep black threw itself against the attacked adult again, rolling on the floor and knocking another adult in the frenzy. They decided to run but the remaining one stopped them yet again. This was a dangerous situation and neither knew what to do.

Suddenly, there was a loud thud and they noticed the deep black's mouth covered in the golden color of blood. It gave a loud bark and howled high. The remaining two adults growled back but the deep black took a few steps forward. There seemed to be a standoff between the two forces with Celty and Shinra in the middle but the two remaining adults growled as they retreated quietly into a nearby building.

"Did it…just save us?" Shinra was confused as they watched it sit down and turn its head their way.

"You…" Celty took a step forward, along with Shinra who tried smiling towards it.

As they wondered how close they should get to it, they saw it open its eyes. Shinra immediately took a step back in surprise but Celty had already thrown the knife she still held out. It yelped as it fell to the ground. Breathing hard, Celty stood over it with anger in her eyes. She took out the knife as more golden color was in her eyesight.

"C-Celty… I think maybe you should…" Shinra tried to appease his companion but she didn't want to hear him. There was no denying that she still hated it, even if it had just saved them. "Celty, stop it!" Grabbing her arm, Shinra held in his scream of pain.

Noticing the warm hand, Celty immediately retreated. There was guilt in her eyes as Shinra simply smiled at her. Without saying a word of apology, she could only stare in shock as Shinra got down on the floor and took out a roll of bandages. He tried smiling at it as it somehow looked at him through those mist filled empty eyes that seemed much creepier than he imagined. It did nothing while Shinra wrapped the wounds in silence.

"Um, thank you…" Shinra tried to thank it and held on to his hand after the job was done. It burned in pain and there was nothing he could do but wait until the pain subsided, knowing his hand might not work the same after the fact.

Celty tried to say something but simply closed her eyes. She knew it was her fault. But before either of them could do anything, it had gotten up and licked Shinra's hand. Surprised, Shinra tried to retreat his hand but it pushed the hand to the ground and continued licking it. Celty was about to kick it away but Shinra stopped her. He smiled and stroke the fur of the deep black until it finished licking his hand. Shinra sat up and looked at the slobbered hand while it sat down next to him, wagging its tail.

There was a black scar forming that reminded Shinra of a burn mark he saw once. He noticed there wasn't any more pain and tried moving his fingers. Surprisingly for him, they did. Celty was in shock as she got down to hold his hand. As the tears fell, Shinra simply smiled and tried calming her down.

Once they calmed down, both got up and started walking back. Although they weren't able to do their job correctly, Shinra thought it'd be best to leave it for another day. Celty agreed and followed Shinra after he covered his hand with the remaining bandages. As they took the first step, Celty heard it stand up as well. She looked back to it, gripping the tucked knife but Shinra stopped her.

"He saved us, Celty. No matter what, we have to remember that. And besides, haven't I said it before? He doesn't do anything so don't bother." Shinra gave her a reassuring smile and Celty nodded in response. Since Shinra had said that much after injuring himself, she had no choice but to comply.

The trek back to their village was easy but they still had to be careful. Just in case any adult that had surrounded them earlier decided to follow them. Of course, it was still behind them, like usual. Celty didn't want it to go to the village though it usually stayed a distance away. It somehow always found Celty when she was out of the village. The only thing that really worried her was its new form. If it had this form, it could easily go into the village.

"What'll you do about your hand?" Celty decided to ask in order not to think about anything else.

"Ah, I think I can find something to cover it at home." Shinra replied with a smile, knowing some part of Celty still felt responsible.

Once the sun began to set, they arrived at the entrance to the forest where their village resided. Many villages were placed in strategic places like that. All were protected by Priestesses who separated the villages by territories that indicated how far their protection spread. As Shinra took the first step in, Celty followed a few feet behind him but stopped when she saw that large shadow.

"Huh? Celty?" Shinra stopped when he felt Celty no longer behind him. He looked extremely worried when he saw her tears. Running back towards her, she noticed him and cleaned her tears. She turned around and looked above. It was above a cliff, watching from afar and sitting very comfortably. "Are you alright?"

"Ye…yeah… Just had this weird sense of déjà vu. It's alright." Celty tried smiling and took a step towards Shinra.

As the two continued onwards, they failed to notice how it got up after its ears perked up and started to take a few steps from one side to the other. It was as if it didn't know what to do. As if it was deciding to go forward or stay in the same spot. Then, its ears fell flat and it growled but it didn't move forward.

There was a small crack in front of the two and they looked forward. "Father?" Shinra first called out to the man he saw through the trees. A shot resounded in their surroundings and Shinra paled. He turned around with wide eyes and screamed, "_**CELTY!**_"

**To Be Continued**

Sissy: I wanted to end this chapter with a suspenseful thing since these two probably won't show up again for a few chapters. Xd Anyways, it hasn't been named by the two yet, how sad. And this is a few months before the previous chapter so it should make sense later on. Oh, I haven't mentioned ages yet, have I?


	3. A soft Whisper

**Title:** Once More**  
>By:<strong> Sissy

**Chapter 3:** A soft Whisper

_Can anybody hear my voice?_

"Masaomi! You're stirring again." Her soft voice caused her twin to open his eyes. They had been asleep in the same bed like always but because of his nightmares, he always woke her up in the middle of the night. He mumbled something like an apology and fell asleep again. Knowing it would probably stop for the night, she went back to sleep.

"_You're there, right?"_

_So are you. You can hear me._

"_But where is 'there' anyways?"_

_Below you, Kida-kun._

"_That's not my name."_

He grumbled under his breath and his twin pulled his arm to try and calm him down, thought both were deep asleep. They could understand each other's movement even in that state.

_I apologize; it's been so long since I've spoken to anyone._

"_I guess it's alright."_

_No, it's not._

"_Why?"_

_You must wake up._

"_Huh?"_

_**I love you. I need you. I love you. Adore you. Love you. I love you. I love you.**_

He jumped out of the bed with a startled face. Then he grabbed his head because of the sudden headache. His twin stirred before sitting up and placing her hand on his shoulder. "Bad dream?"

"No, just weird. I thought I was talking to someone." He explained and rubbed his head with the bottom of his hands, wondering what it was that he dreamed of. It was weird and he couldn't remember it all. Just that loud voice at the end that made no sense to him.

"Oh." She looked down and seemed to be in thought. Then she looked up at him with a smile. "Do you want to get some breakfast, Masaomi?"

Masaomi turned to her and instantly smiled. "Sure! Let's go Saki!" With that agreement, both children left their room and headed down the hall. Their house was a large shrine built some centuries ago that had been uninhabited at some point but repossessed by their family. No one nowadays kept last names but Masaomi's family remembered their linage for some reason. Neither his father nor his mother would ever tell him why though.

"Oh, good morning, little master, little mistress." The part-time maid saluted them with a smile. She only took the job since she wanted to learn how to cook from the twin's mother. "I made delicious fried rice with eggs and vegetables. Wanna try it?"

"You haven't tasted it yet, have you Erika-san?" Saki asked with doubtful eyes.

"That means we're going to be guinea pigs, right?" Masaomi asked while closing his eyes scared.

"Come on! I'm pretty sure I got it right this time!" She spoke in her defense and handed them each a plate filled with food. Pouting at the same time, the twins took their plates and sat on the table. After a thank-you prayer and a please-let-us-live-after-this prayer, the two took their first bite. There was a loud crunch and the two instantly regretted taking the plate. Erika seemed both expectant of their comment and confused by the sound.

"Erika-san…" Both called to her at the same time, "Did you put even the shell in this?"

With a quick movement, Erika snapped her fingers. "I remembered to cook the rice but I completely forgot about that! Whoops!" She grinned aloofly and took an extra two plates in her hands. The twins looked at her curiously and paled at her next set of words. "The master and mistress asked me to take them their breakfast."

"We have to save mom and dad." Masaomi looked at Saki seriously.

"Daddy and mommy can take care of themselves, besides…" Saki took another bite of her breakfast, cringing only a bit at the crunches. "It's not so bad when you ignore the eggshells."

Masaomi shrugged his shoulders in defeat and continued eating. Almost five minutes later, they heard their father's voice yell for only a second and tried to hold in their chuckles. Once they were done, the two headed out of their home and walked down the slope of their house that lead to the rest of the village.

"Good morning little ones!" A woman saluted them from afar as she fed the chicken in front of her house. It was one of the many small houses around the slope.

"Good morning, granny!" Both saluted her back with a smile and ran off.

Once they reached the rest of the bustling streets of the village, they headed in direction of the school. It was the only place of diversion and education for the children of the village. Only four adults taught a few classes there and there wasn't much variety. Some children asked about other obscure and less well known subjects and the teachers tried their best to teach them but their library of information was small. Although, the twins heard that their repository had been getting bigger in the last few days with no explanation how.

"Good morning sensei!" They spoke happily once they entered the school grounds and the adult cleaning the entrance saluted them back with a smile.

"Oh, Masaomi!" The voice caused the twins to halt and they turned to the right to see the annoying younger boy running towards the two. It wasn't that they hated him, after all, Saki enjoyed teasing him every so often; it was just that his obsession over Masaomi bordered on irritating. But most especially his habit, which commenced as soon as they boy jumped over the window to reach the twins. "A eulogy! In commemoration that we managed to cross paths this great morning! It's a story of love and passion! And GREED!"

"Shut up Izaya." Another came up from behind him and had smacked his head with a book, looking calmly at his best friend. "We have work to do, remember?"

"Right, right! Sorry, Kasuka. Forgot about that for a second." Izaya grinned aloofly and bowed at the older twins. "Word of advice. I'd be interesting to explore your house another day. Kasuka and I found it fun last time. See ya Masaomi!" With that, the two ran off away from the school.

"One of these days, we'll find them back at the village in caskets. Don't you get the feeling they're meddling in something dangerous?" Masaomi wondered out loud but his twin nodded nonetheless.

_That's because he knows._

His heart nearly stopped for a moment and Masaomi figured he was still a bit tired due to his dreams. Saki laughed at his previous comment, failing to notice her twin's worry. Since he recovered quickly, the two headed inside with another sprint. A girl their age was passing by with a few books in her hands through the hallway. Masaomi instantly recognized her and grinned.

"Namie-chan!" He skipped over to her while Saki rolled her eyes. She knew well that Masaomi was going to get hurt the closer he tried to get to that girl but since it was her only brother's first crush, she'd promise herself to watch from afar. As expected, Namie stepped away and allowed Masaomi's face to plant itself against the wall.

"You're increasingly annoying, you know?" Namie responded with a scoff and walked away.

Saki skipped to her brother's side and bent down, "Shall we follow, Masaomi? I believe she's going to hand those books to one of the teachers." With a smile in place, Masaomi responded in equal fashion and followed Namie to the second floor.

The hallway looked clean, much like the rest of the building, though some trees had long since invaded it. But since this was their biggest stronghold, the villagers kept it in shape. It was more of a tradition and habit by now. But it was necessary to them. If they should ever lose protection, or if by some chance they were discovered, this was the place to have the last stand. Everyone knew it by heart.

"This way, right?" Masaomi asked Saki, who nodded and followed after him. The two entered the second room to the left and saw around six kids inside. Namie was handing books to them before heading to the adult in the front with a bright smile on her face.

While Masaomi pouted at the scene, Saki pulled him towards a seat nearby. "Alright, let's start. Anyone without a book, remember to pair off." The man spoke calmly and with a soft smile. The children replied enthusiastically and one of them passed a book to Masaomi before pairing off with another student.

The class was about art, which was one of the rare subjects but pleasant for the children. They always enjoyed it, especially whenever they were allowed to use materials to make something. Some things were hard to come by but they tried to recycle as much as possible. Today was about history, which the teacher quizzed them about to see how fast they could read the textbook. After all, in order to learn anything, they first needed to learn how to read.

About halfway through, another adult called for the man and class was dismissed for the day. The students pouted but obeyed orders. They decided to crash another classroom's class in the meantime, even if they came in midway through it. There was nothing else for them to do anyways. Masaomi and Saki thought about following their teacher since Namie had run after him but this other class they came in was fun too. They had already taken it last year so they decided to help out the teacher.

"Little master! Little mistress!" Erika's voice sounded throughout the hallway around noon and the twins poked their heads in fear to greet her. As expected, she was carrying a boxed lunch for them. "There you are! The mistress and I made this for you so please eat it all with love!" Once her task was done, Erika skipped off with a smile and a whistled tune.

Some kids, who came outside to look, stared at the boxed lunch with worry. "If mom also helped out, it should be okay, right? Even with Erika-san by her side?" Masaomi asked and Saki nodded hesitantly. As he slowly opened the box, the kids scampered away in fear. Almost unsurprisingly, it looked normal. What they couldn't tell from a first glance was which food their mother cooked and which one was Erika's handiwork.

"I'd stay away from the salad if I were you." The teen suddenly spoke behind them, scaring the twins. "Well, it might've turned out alright. You can never tell. But that's Erika's work. Good luck." He gave them fair warning and walked away. It was fairly obvious to the twins that the teen was feed enough of her food to recognize it with just a look so they took his word and carefully tried the salad. It was overly salted for some reason.

Once the school was basically over and because it wasn't really obligatory to head there, the twins returned home. Neither Erika nor their parents were home so the twins retired to their room for an afternoon nap. For them, there wasn't much else to do with their life. If they had been like Izaya and his best friend, Kasuka, then maybe they'd have more fun and things to do.

_You've come again. I didn't think you would._

"_Again? Oh, right. This morning."_

_I don't find it odd you've forgotten._

"_Hey, how'd you know that name?"_

_You mean Kida? It's yours after all. Have you forgotten?_

"_Dad doesn't let us forget. But how did you know?"_

_Wake up._

"_What?"_

_If you meet me, it'll be clearer._

"_What will?"_

_Below you Kida-kun. Hurry._

_**I love you. I need you. I love you. Adore you. Love you. I love you. I love you.**_

"Waah!" Masaomi jumped out of the bed with sweat falling through his whole body. He could remember it all. She had said '_below_ but Masaomi didn't know what she meant by that. There was no below him, right? But Izaya's words drifted upwards from his memory. Blinking, he just stared at Saki's still sleeping form before willing himself to act.

The first push was harder than he thought. It wasn't until the second one that Saki woke up. "What are you doing Masaomi?" She asked with a confused and drowsy look on her face.

"Oh, uh… See, I remembered. This used to be gramps' room, right? Dad made us move here after gramps died so I always wondered why. I think I know now. Uh, can you help me out Saki?" Without asking what kind of help, Saki got off the bed and pushed with Masaomi. The bed moved easily now and the two noticed the latch door hidden under it.

"Is this it?" Saki asked, wondering if this is what Masaomi wanted to find under the bed.

"I think so. Will you keep me company, Saki?" He asked his sister with a slightly worried look.

"Of course. I'll go anywhere with you, Masaomi." Saki nodded confidently and the two opened the latch door to reveal a hidden staircase. As the two stared at each other, they nodded hesitantly before descending. For some reason, the staircase was lit by soft electronic lights. The two found it odd since there wasn't much technology from the previous era still available. A few people found some but getting them to work was a whole different problem.

The air became more and more humid with each step and Saki felt a drop of water fall on her shoulder. She wondered if there was a stream of water somewhere underneath their house. Once they reached the bottom, they were faced with a large silk curtain. Masaomi and Saki glanced at each other nervously and continued.

Behind the curtain was a small hall filled with curtains and an underground spring. In the middle of the hall was a small shrine. Saki was amazed by the structure but wondered how anyone managed to build and hide this underneath their home.

_Welcome._

Only Masaomi heard that voice but Saki had noticed her brother twitch in shock. He gulped and took a few steps towards the shrine, followed by Saki. The girl looked somewhat nervous when they stepped on top of the stone steps that lead to the small shrine. Once he was in front of the shrine, Masaomi opened the doors to reveal a sheathed sword.

"Were you the one calling me?" He asked out loud and Saki only watched as her brother seemed to begin a one-sided conversation. Of course, it wasn't as one-sided as she might believe.

_If you'd like to call it that way._

"You…had a contract with gramps, didn't you?" He asked and received another answer.

_That's correct. For a long time now, it's become that way._

"There's a lot of questions I've got for you, but…" Masaomi bit his lip and Saki placed her hand on his for support. He silently thanked her and stared at the sword with conviction. "Are you lonely here?"

_Heh. You're exactly the same, Kida-kun._

"Masaomi! You have to call me Masaomi!" He corrected her quickly, not liking how she called him. It was forbidden by his father. He didn't know yet why, just that it would be revealed to him in the future. Saki would also know the reason why at the same time.

_Don't worry. I am allowed to say that name. But thank you._

Masaomi blushed, not knowing the reason why he did so. "Why thank me?"

_For worrying. You haven't changed. I'm glad._

"Do you want to be out of here?" He finally asked, realizing this voice seemed truly lonely. Had it been here since his grandfather's death?

_I'd be happy. But will you be able to handle it? We're dangerous._

_**I love you. I need you. I love you. Adore you. Love you. I love you. I love you.**_

Masaomi took a step back in shock. Saki was worried but squeezed his hand for support. He looked over at her and she nodded in response. Instantly, he smiled back at her in thanks. "I want to help. I have a feeling it's important."

_Thank you._

Steeling his nerves, Masaomi took the sword in hand. His vision went dark and he saw a soft light in the distance. Finally, he saw the voice's true form. She hung upside down for some reason and smiled at Masaomi once she noticed him.

_Now then, what would you like to know?_

**To Be Continued**

Sissy: Holy cow. This ended up longer than expected, but mainly because of those one liners between Masaomi and you-know-who. A lot more characters showed up here, compared to the first two chapters. This took a while since I started a request for the short shorts and another drabble. Xd


	4. Two Children Converse

**Title:** Once More**  
>By:<strong> Sissy

**Chapter 4:** Two Children Converse

In the middle of the forest road, three young people sat together around a campfire. The teenage boy had just finished retelling his story to the other two, who seemed pretty amazed by it. "Oh, so by the time you realized it, you had become a splendid and full-fledge Outside?" The man commented with a bright smile while the young Priestess by his side remained quiet.

"Outside? What does that mean?" The teen asked curiously, not knowing what he meant by that.

"Oh, sorry. I meant Frontier. That's what it would be called in your village, right?" The man suddenly explained but the teen was still confused. A sudden tug to his shirt from the young Priestess gave him the permission to continue speaking. "Mikado-kun, how much do you know about the Frontier and the Palace?"

Mikado began to think but shook his head. "I guess not much? It wasn't something taught about in detail. Just that one defends the direct outside of the village and the other the inside. Like the order in which people would protect the village."

"Not bad. But have you thought about why anyone would divide them up like that? In reality, the job is the same, isn't it? They both fight against those." Mikado seemed to think about how to answer that and the man simply sighed. "Well, I don't blame you. Not many villages know and those that do aren't that much happy about spreading such things. The Palace protect the people inside the village to ease their worries while the Frontier fight outside to destroy nests and sightings in order to create a sense of safety."

"Yeah, that much I know. It's been pretty obvious. Our village had a lot of both." Mikado talked to them, wondering what the point of their story was.

The young Priestess finally spoke up softly. "(But why?)"

Mikado was startled and confused but the man intervened to continue his story. "Why is important to do so much? A Priestess's job is to create a protective "barrier" to shield the villages. Hence why they're always surrounded by a forest. Shouldn't that be enough? Why the need to go out of our way to send people to fight?"

"Wouldn't it be to try and stop the procreation of them?" Mikado asked curiously and the man gave the teen two thumbs-up for his answer.

"Good and close enough! Alright then, do you know if there was an earlier name to both positions?" A shake from the teen made the man continue. "The original name for both was First and Last. Now what does that remind you of?"

"A death order." He looked hurt by his own words and the man softly smiled at him.

"That's right. It was a morbid naming system. The feeling it gave people was eventually too dark for them and it became necessary to change it. The Priestesses suggested the change in name but once again, it seems to have gotten negative energy. Hopefully, this new naming system will last us a while, as long as we slowly introduce it." He seemed complacent about it but somehow Mikado still didn't seem to understand it that well. Though he might have not cared either way.

Suddenly, before the lesson could go any further, a loud sound was heard in the distance. The small ferret around the young Priestess's neck woke up and growled at the faraway sounds. Its red eyes gazed forward and the young Priestess placed her hand to calm it down. "(Chikage-san…)" She called to the man, who grinned.

"Yeah, I figured it might've happened." Chikage laughed to himself but made sure his charge wasn't too far away from him. Mikado, on the other hand, had almost stopped breathing as he seemed a bit shocked. "Mikado-kun, that's probably our… Whoa! Hey!" Though he had tried to tell him something important, the teen had already run off before Chikage could finish. "Now what, Kururi-chan?"

"(Should be okay?)" Kururi tilted her head but the bodyguard thought about it for a while before sighing.

"Well, Shizuo knows the difference between those and humans so Mikado-kun will be okay. But after seeing Mikado-kun's eyes, I'm not so sure Shizuo'll be." Chikage scratched his cheek worriedly and froze when he heard the adult-like soft voice. "The Child will stop. They cannot harm humans."

Kururi placed her hand on the ferret and shushed it. "(Quiet, Haruna.)" Looking back to Chikage, she gave him a look that he recognized and offered her his hand so they start their trek towards the noise. The noise that belonged to a fight between two beings, one human and the other something else.

"Damn thing! What are you in heat?" He jumped back and was about to deliver a blow to the head when something else collided with it first. Though the now-blond teen was surprised, he could only stare at the new teen in shock.

Mikado jumped off the thing and kicked it high. It flew in retaliation, ready to make its attack. As he waited, Mikado brought his right hand closer. His slightly long yet cared-for nails seemed to shine. It came down on them, a load incomprehensible howl racing towards them. Mikado jumped and in a split second, the golden color fell on top of both. His hair turned the same color as he turned around. The teen noticed everything about Mikado, but most especially the red eyes he had. Mikado, in turn, stared in shock at this unknown person. Something about him struck at Mikado, but he just couldn't see it yet.

"Hey, you…" Mikado was called out to but he wasn't able to respond immediately. His lips were flapping about almost indecisively. Then, all of a sudden, Mikado lounged at the other. If not for his quick reflexes, the other teen might've been killed. He held Mikado's right wrist tightly and quickly grabbed hold of the left one too when it was coming close to his face.

"Hey, Shizuo! Mikado-kun!" Chikage called out to the two and Shizuo was caught off guard. Without any warning, Mikado lounged forward and fell on top of Shizuo. Chikage was about to say something but quickly covered Kururi's eyes from the sight in front. As embarrassing as it was to see the two devour each other's lips, Chikage couldn't help but feel something amiss.

But they were quickly done and separated to look back at Chikage. Mikado's eyes returned to their normal color and he bent down to hide his face. "Um, so… Hi." Shizuo greeted the other and bent down as well to face him.

"Hello… Shizuo-san, right?" Mikado asked curiously and saw the face on Shizuo light up a bright red.

"Go out with me!" He suddenly responded and failed to see the two bystanders' look on their faces. They seemed to be enjoying the show now that the adult-like stuff was over with.

Mikado blinked a few times in surprise and nodded, looking somehow very happy. "I'm Mikado, Shizuo-san." He said but it felt as though it wasn't a regular introduction. Kururi eased her ferret from jumping out and forced it to stay put.

"Don't do the -san, Mikado! I bet you and I are the same age!" He seemed pretty intent on that one thing and Mikado lit up even brighter. "Then, Sh-Shi-Shiz-z-zuo-zuo…" Mikado couldn't handle any more and fell back but Shizuo caught him quickly. Bringing the other close to him, Shizuo gave Mikado a light peck on the forehead. Mikado, in response, nuzzled closer to Shizuo.

Suddenly, the two froze when they heard clapping. Chikage was crying tears of joy while Kururi remained quiet. "That was so beautiful! I've got no idea what's going on but it was beautiful!"

"(It's love.)" Kururi commented and felt her ferret purr lightly.

"Chikage-san, Kururi-sama, since when have you been there?" Mikado asked confused while Shizuo wondered the same.

"(The kiss scene.)" Kururi commented and Chikage immediately seemed distressed. "You can't say such things so honestly, Kururi-sama! Don't worry Shizuo! We totally didn't see you get ravaged by Mikado-kun!" He said that with a bright grin and received a pair of sharp gazes. However, Chikage ignored them and simply laughed to himself.

With a sigh, Shizuo stood up and helped Mikado up as well. "I was supposed to come and meet you two when I was on my rounds over at the other village." He walked over to the two with Mikado in tow. "I have a message from your brother. He said he was worried about you."

"(I as well.)" Kururi nodded in response and Chikage intervened. "Well, glad we managed to catch up. When I heard you were nearby, I thought of it as fate! This must mean…you're my cupid of love!" Mikado couldn't catch up with the conversation at all as he heard both Shizuo and Kururi sigh to themselves. As Chikage rambled on and on about his fate, Kururi walked up to the pair.

She took each of their hands and began to sing a soft song. It spoke of blessings and unions and good fortunes. Both teens felt a warmth inside of them that was difficult to describe and smiled to each other. Once she was done, Chikage clapped again, seemingly happy.

"Thank you, Kururi-sama." Mikado said softly as she let go of their hands.

"(Least I could do.)" Kururi replied and felt Shizuo pet her head. She seemed content with that but quickly felt a scurry of fur over to her head before Shizuo yelped out in pain. "(Haruna, stop.)" Her ferret growled towards the teen but stopped at the sound of Kururi's voice.

"Since when did you have that thing?" Shizuo asked curiously and saw Chikage come forward.

"Kururi-sama found it. It's quite attached to her. But it really hates it if anyone touches Kururi-sama." Chikage explained with a smile and tried to touch Kururi's head to show what he meant. The ferret indeed tried to bite him but he moved away quickly. Mikado watched it curiously for a moment as it stared back for the exact amount of time. "Well, shall we continue our path now that we managed to catch up? I have a woman I need to woo."

"(You'll fail.)" Kururi murmured to herself as she followed the group. The young Priestess kept watch of the two lovers as they exchanged stories and got to know each other. Though she was young, Kururi knew there was a real yet strange chemistry between the two.

Once evening set in and they were still ways away from the village Shizuo was leading them to, all four made camp and settled themselves nicely. Both Mikado and Shizuo were still conversing, leaving Chikage and Kururi without any chances to intervene. Resting against each other, the two eventually fell asleep. Chikage stretched a bit and kept watch of the sleeping Kururi for a while until he snoozed off himself.

When everyone wasn't aware, Kururi's ferret came out and stretched in front of the fire. "Are you awake, Child?" The voice came as a whisper but Mikado's eyes opened nonetheless. They were shining a bright red once more as he smiled towards the ferret.

"For a little longer." He responded, not moving from his position. "You were…Niekawa-sempai, right? Sonohara-san told me about you once. Why are you protecting that girl?" Mikado's voice was a mere whisper as well before he received his response.

"I have a deal with the girl. I give her information and she helps me find Takashi." The ferret slithered towards Mikado and Shizuo until it reached Mikado's feet. "Though I am more awake than you Child, I'm intrigued, what do you plan to do?"

"I just wish to be with Shizuo-san; the same as you. I don't need to remember, just feel. I am curious, Niekawa-sempai. How did you managed to assimilate to that? The Children can't be reborn into that." Mikado seemed curious as he watched the ferret climb up to his knees.

"I had a blade as well, Child. We all do. I just used that a long, long time ago." It seemed angry or perhaps mad but Mikado paid no attention to it. He passed his thumbs lightly across his nails in response to the words spoken. But now he felt tired. "I'll find Takashi again. That's all I want. So I won't accept her interference. Make sure you both know that very well. I am no longer her antenna." The ferret watched as Mikado's eyes slowly returned to their original color before the teen drifted asleep.

The ferret eyed Mikado's sleeping form and turned around to see Kururi watching it. "(Haruna…)" She called out to her ferret and watched it scamper back towards her. "(Talking too much.)"

"The Child won't remember. It's awake but not like me. He can't access all his old memories like I can. Nobody knows yet. But she's awake so she'll figure it out when we finally get there. If Takashi's anywhere near her, I'll kill her!" The voice sounded angrier and a bit louder now but Kururi lifted her hand to pet the back of her ferret.

"(Protect you, promise.)" Kururi spoke to her and felt her ferret purr in response.

Once her ferret was back in its hiding spot and asleep, Kururi followed after it. Chikage opened one eye and glanced at his charge before closing it again. When they awoke in the morning, they would reach their destination.

**To Be Continued**

Sissy: Eh, so this was shorter than the others thus far and I wrote the beginning twice before settling it where it is. There was a lot I wanted to do with this chapter but ended up just giving vague background information that'll serve as the foundation for more explanations in the future (like two or three conversations). And chronologically, this would be about a year after the first chapter. Am I done with the random time skips and will I get down to business? Well, not yet. The pairings thus far have all been normal, after all.


	5. Research

**Title:** Once More**  
>By:<strong> Sissy

**Chapter 5:** Research

The man's back was against a wall. He wanted to scream and cry out for help but there was none nearby for him. And it wasn't as though anyone could help him anyways. Not against his current enemy. He closed his eyes and felt a first prick before everything went dark.

When he finally regained consciousness, his surroundings had changed but his current enemy was still nearby. "Good morning Tom-kun! So nice of you to join me again!" The voice behind the mask was energetic yet Tom had never seen it even once. He only ever caught glimpses of it. His current enemy was shy in the oddest ways possible.

"Shingen-san, where are we?" Tom asked nicely because he knew he needed to be polite. Especially since he was trying to find a way to recover his lost clothes. Shingen would never do anything to him that would warrant an intervention. At least, not when Tom was awake. But now he was wishing he could know what the man did while Tom was asleep.

The laughter of the older man caught his attention. "You should see your face, Tom-kun!" In reply to that phrase, Tom's face soured as he bit back the sarcasm that was about to leave his throat. Shingen coughed lightly underneath his mask and tried tilting his head a bit. "I haven't done anything but upgrade your resistance. Don't you love me yet?"

"Shingen-san, where are we?" Tom repeated a bit angrily this time as he turned his gaze away and got off from the cold table. His surroundings felt familiar yet different at the same time. He knew these walls or at least similar ones from his childhood.

When he heard pouting noises from Shingen, Tom faced the crazy man again. "We're at the remnants of an old hospital in the old district of what used to be called Kyoto!" Shingen spoke happily as he opened a nearby window. "I'm surprised this much has been left untouched. By the way, Shiki passed by while you were asleep. Seiji-kun wants us back home." As the sakura petals began to fall slowly inside the hospital, Tom noticed the light being blocked out in the distance.

In a matter of seconds, Tom had pulled Shingen towards the center of the room and he had stopped the blow heading towards the odd man. The large claw tried to grab hold of Tom but the other was making sure that didn't happen. "Shingen-san, my gun!" He called out to the odd man and felt the light weapon make its way to him. The very moment he grabbed it though, Tom was pulled up high in the sky.

As he struggled with his current captor, Tom made sure he wasn't dropped. Somehow, the years of experience told him that this one was planning on flattening him like a drop of water when it falls on the ground. But Tom wasn't about to let it win. He loaded his gun with the teeth of his mouth and quickly shot its left wing. With a loud howl, it began a rapid descend.

"Damn Chimera!" He cursed out loud as the grip on his arm was still too strong. Pointing again, Tom shot at the claw holding him. He was let go in an instance, though now he was plummeting with it as well. But Tom had a plan. He shot at it a few more times in order to grab its attention. It eventually started attacking him again and Tom struggled with it until he was now above it. A wide smirk was plastered in his face now as he shot one last time at it. Both arrived on the ground. Tom was alive and well while his enemy lay dead on the floor, the golden color of its blood everywhere.

"Nicely done, Tom-kun! Now I can play around with it as much as I like!" Shingen wasn't joking when he spoke. The man came prepared for such an act. Though he had at least brought over Tom's lost clothes. "Is it working better this time?" He was referring to the gun and Tom thought about it.

"It's a bit slow loading but its firepower is real nice. Who'd you get to make the modification?" Tom was very curious about his weapon as he finished getting dressed again. The gun fit nicely in his side pocket and he felt pretty content with it. But he did notice the small inscription in the bottom of the gun. All items that came from that place carried the same inscription. They were the oddities of the old Tokyo area.

"Ran-kun modified it. He's been pretty excited about getting new jobs from me. Speaking of Shibuya, Emilia-san sent you a letter. I read it for you." Shingen brought out a letter and Tom took it quickly from his hands. He was pretty pissed about that. Shingen did it on occasions, a lot. Simply because he enjoyed laughing at Tom about his mother's words. At least, that was what Tom believed. Shingen had other plans he hid from Tom.

"It if wasn't because I owe Seiji, I'd have kill you a long time ago." Tom muttered to himself, all the while trying to calm himself. He wanted to read his mother's letter peacefully. Inside were simple words that wished for his well being and random news from his hometown. Tom couldn't help but smile as he read that.

Unknown to him, Shingen had been eyeing him while working on his experiment with the dead enemy. "Alright! Quiz time!" He suddenly said as if to really brighten the mood but Tom seemed displeased with his suggestions. Whenever he failed the quizzes, Shingen would randomly experiment with him.

Tom looked around for an escape route but he knew he couldn't actually leave Shingen by himself. It was the job he had been given and the whole reason he allowed those damn experiments of Shingen. At times like these, he seriously wished he hadn't owed anything to that person.

"Chimera blood is…what color and why?" Shingen's first question was easy for Tom and he felt the older man was going easy with him before ramming in the more difficult question.

"Golden yellow. And because of the excess poison running through the blood." Tom knew the answer by heart so it didn't really bother him to speak it out loud.

"Bingo! Now this poison, explain the properties if you will, with details." Shingen asked as he brought out an organ from the inside of the Chimera in order to examine it. Even now, he tried to look for anything odd in the many Chimeras he experimented on. Some pieces were taken by him for further research, whenever he wasn't studying them from afar.

"A human without immunity that is hit with this blood will first have the poison infect their skin. Once the poison infects, the area stops being responsive and could eventually cause the stop of all organs in the area as it continues to spread into the body. This would mean that the person will die." Tom answered as he watched Shingen cut open the organ. Because Shingen wore protective gear all the time, he continued with his explanation. "There are, however, humans immune to the poison. Currently, no one, not even you, have been able to explain the reason for this. But the quantity is pretty big and almost all Outside are those who are immune."

"Wonderful!" Shingen stood up and Tom had to look away from him. For some reason, even if his face was hidden under that mask, Tom could tell how ecstatic Shingen was. "It seems my education has been engraved in your mind. But you've missed one detail in that explanation. Do you remember what it is?"

Tom thought about it and realized what it was. But Shingen was wrong. "I missed two details, not one. Immune people will reflect the blood hit on them by involuntarily turning their hair color the same golden color. The spread of the color indicates how much blood the person was hit with. There is only one exception so far to all of this. The me that you've experimented on. I have a tolerance to the blood but too much will scar me. None of my hair will change color either." He stared at his hand and the skin color already too tanned from traveling. Sometimes he wondered if he was still human. But as long as his loved ones still cared about him, he didn't mind.

Shingen's clapping brought him back to his senses. He was already in front of him, holding onto another piece of the Chimera. "There's still much to learn about the Chimeras. But what about the people? As an Outside employed with my safety, what do you think about all this idiotic work?" Tom wanted to say that Shingen was wrong but knew the man was completely right about him. He saw right through everything.

"Outsides will always protect the people they travel with. That's our duty. What our charges do is completely irrelevant." Tom answered so dutifully to the point that Shingen had begun to laugh.

"Thank you, Tom-kun. That was admirable of you. You would make Emilia-san very proud." Shingen spoke softly and received a long frown from Tom in return. "Don't make that face, Tom-kun. Though it seems idiotic and I might not have been able to woo you just yet, my work will be able to progress to the level where it will be recognized by the leftovers of this broken country. And it's all thanks to your hometown." Though Tom wasn't sure how serious Shingen was with the wooing comment, he knew the man spoke the truth.

He sighed and smiled softly to Shingen. "I guess you can say good things every so…" Tom began but was cut off by the eccentric in front of him. "Now, as an Outside, how does one go about finding out whether one is suitable for this line of work?" The quiz wasn't done and Tom wondered what other type of questions Shingen felt like asking him.

"That is…through the blood test." Tom began by lifting his right hand to show the small scar on it. "Most villages by now know of this test. It requires Chimera blood. The candidate for Outside drops some blood that is mixed with the Chimera blood. If the blood turns black, it means the candidate is not immune. On the other hand, if nothing happens that means the candidate is immune. In my case, my blood will still turn black so I could still die if an open wound of mine gets hit with the blood." He stared at his hand, realizing once again how truly weak he was. But he had wanted to be a useful Outside, especially since his younger brother was one as well.

Shingen nodded and turned around, returning to the Chimera corpse. As he was about to say something, both males heard the roar of an item so unique, they had recognized it instantly. It was a product of Shibuya, remodeled specifically for the person who charged towards the two with three Chimera's following closely behind. Tom ordered Shingen to hide behind a piece of debris for the moment as he took aim. With one shot, he took out one of the Chimeras. The rider of the strange motorcycle came to a screeching halt next to Tom and brought out a longer gun, aiming and shooting at one of the remaining two.

The last one flew up, perhaps hoping to use the sun to blind their eyesight but both gunmen had no such problem. With a shot from each, it came crashing down. "It isn't even my birthday!" Shingen came out of hiding and approached the corpses, seemingly pleased. "Thanks, Tom-kun, Vorona-chan!"

"Where's Shiki?" The woman behind the wheel spoke with an angry look on her face, completely ignoring Shingen's comment.

"Vorona, that's no way to ask something. Can't you even say hello?" Tom asked the younger woman, who quickly pouted and smiled softly to the two only so she could ask, "Hello Tom-san, Shingen-sensei. Where's Shiki?"

Tom sighed to himself while Shingen ignored how she was in turn ignoring them. "Shiki passed by yesterday. I do believe you're pushing things too much. But since you're here, I might be able to help you; if you do something for me." Shingen placed three organs from the already cut Chimera in three different bottles. "I'll tell you Shiki's direction if you take these back to my lab. Just give them to Emilia-san in Shibuya, she'll know where to leave them."

Vorona eyed the bottle suspiciously and seemed to be considering it a lot. She had no idea if it would be worth it. "Aren't you an Outside Carrier? That's your job, isn't it? Think of his information as payment."

"Very well." Vorona answered, not seemingly interested in doing her job. Once she took the bottles and put them away, she looked at Shingen intensely. "And? Where's Shiki?"

"Shiki handed me a message from Seiji-kun in 'Bukuro so he'll be sending my response back to Seiji-kun. If you head there, then it's most likely that you'll meet up with him." Shingen replied and Tom kept his thoughts to himself. He always thought Shiki and Shingen were best friends but Shingen didn't seem to have any problems with selling the other out.

"Thank you Shingen-sensei!" Vorona seemed very pleased and decided to ask. "By the way, Ao-san was curious. Have you found anything new?" Tom felt a chill fall down his spine when Vorona said the name like that. She didn't seem to hold much respect for her superior.

Shingen, on the other hand, seemed to know what to say. "If you could inform Aozaki-san that my research is available to anyone back in Shibuya, I'd be pleased. But since I'm still in a good mood, you can pass along that I've caught sight of something interesting and I'll be sure to update my notes for him when I head to the lab again." Tom assumed it had been the thing the two saw last week but decided to keep quiet.

As Vorona was about to agree with the request, the earth suddenly shook beneath them. It hadn't moved very hard but they had been caught by surprise. "What the hell? When's the last time anyone felt an earthquake like this?" Tom was the first to ask and was surprised by the loud howls in the distance. Vorona was in shock as well, not knowing how many there were.

"Interesting development. I've never seen the Chimeras act this way. Looks like my estimation was correct. We won't be able to go back so quickly. I made the right choice in sending Seiji-kun that message." Shingen sounded very pleased and Tom felt like wringing his neck.

In the meantime, Vorona got on her bike and saluted them goodbye before riding off. For Tom, it seemed as though the woman was simply running away from them. But he figured that now the woman had a reason to leave them and run after the one she sought. He'd only ever heard the rumor about the two, almost confirming it once with the sought-after man in question. Tom sighed, wondering if love made people go crazy. There was probably never a time he saw a couple who didn't act insane.

"Well, shall we finish here before heading out again? Oh, right. I never finished." Tom knew exactly what the man talked about. "Aside from the Outside, which are divided into what groups, what other group is known to be immune?" There were two questions this time and Tom knew that Shingen only added the first since Vorona had just passed by.

"Bodyguards, Scouts and Carriers. The first are the regular ones who do the odd jobs like escorting people from one village to another and mainly fighting against Chimeras. The second are those sent only on reconnaissance of Chimera nests. And the last, which are like Vorona and Shiki, are mail carriers who deliver nothing but mail, parcels and messages. As for another group immune, those would be the Priestesses. They're the only group whose reason for immunity is known. That is, the power that the Priestesses have is the power of prayer." Somehow, giving that long an explanation seemed to have tired out him out.

Shingen clapped again, seemingly happy. "Wonderful, Tom-kun! You truly don't disappoint me! Now! One last question! A win for the money!" Every so often, Shingen would say strange phrases like this but Tom had gotten used to them. But what worried him more was the last question. Would he actually give a hard question or go again with that stupid one? "Don't you love me yet?" Yep, he went with the stupid one.

"Are you done yet? Weren't we going back to Seiji's place?" With that the conversation was forcefully dropped and Shingen could be heard pouting in the distance. Tom really hated that man's my-pace-makes-the-world-go-round attitude but he accepted the usefulness of him. When Shingen finally finished with his small pseudo-experiments, the two headed out in the direction Vorona had left.

They would be heading home soon. To many new things to be discovered.

**To Be Continued**

Sissy: Yes, I did (start with the weird pairings, who can blame me?)! Most of this chapter is centered on giving information, though Tom will definitely be teased later on for not finishing the quiz (was that too loud?). I'm supposed to be working on a request (was stuck between a castle and a modern office setting) and a beta service (track changes, damn you!), but since this was almost done, I wanted to finish it up. I'm sure it's obvious, but this takes place before the first chapter as it's the earthquake the two had talked about.


End file.
